With Bumrah going without a wicket, England managed to successfully chase down the large victory target of 371 to win the crucial opening Test in Headingley on Tuesday on the back of a superb century from opener Ben Duckett.
Seamers Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur collected a pair of wickets each in England’s chase, with the more experienced trio of Mohammed Siraj, Ravindra Jadeja and Bumrah all struggling to make much of an impact as the hosts drew first blood in the series.
“This bowling attack has one bowler with five Tests under his belt, one has four, one has played two and one hasn’t yet debuted,” Gambhir said in defence of his bowling group.
“We will have to give them time.
“Earlier, we used to have four fast bowlers in the squad with an experience of more than 40 Tests. It doesn’t make such a big impact in one-day or T20 matches, but when you go to Australia, England or South Africa for Tests, experience matters. These are early days.
“If we start judging our bowlers after every Test, how will be develop a bowling attack? Outside Bumrah and (Mohammad) Siraj, we don’t have that much experience, but they have quality, which is why they are in this dressing room. But we have got to keep backing them because it’s not about one tour. It’s about building a fast-bowler battery that can serve India for long time in Test cricket.”
